Saying Farewell to Fear # 6
“Understanding the Enemy”
Ephesians 6:10-18
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
The Kingdom of God does not rise and fall on the outcome of an American election.
- Daniel 2:21 reminds us that our Sovereign God removes kings and raises kings to accomplish His eternal goals.
- However, while His sovereignty rules over all, in all, and through all, that does not negate man’s responsibility to be the salt and light within the culture.
- The tragic results of Tuesday’s election will linger with us for years to come as the political landscape shifted dramatically to the left, which means the character of our culture will become more liberal, lawless, and licentious.
- With 17 LGBTQ+ candidates being elected to federal offices, and other trans and nonbinary winners at state and local levels, we should expect a major effort to raise the LGBTQ+ agenda.
- With a record 149 Democratic Socialist candidates winning their races, including 11 U.S. House seats, we should expect a major challenge to the free-market capitalist system, as well as a need to abandon the U.S. Constitution.
- With 97 Muslim Americans elected to federal, state, and local offices, and 7 Muslims now serving in Congress, we should expect more cities, if not whole states, to come under Islamic control and operate under sharia governance.
- With 31 pro-Israel-supported candidates losing their seats in the 2026 election, we should prepare for a push for America to abandon its support of Israel, which would be prophetically disastrous.
Governments change, world leaders come and go, but God’s call upon our lives has not changed.
- We are still called to be God’s people. We are still called to be the salt and light for our society. Our mission is to “occupy until Jesus returns,” and to make disciples of all nations.
- The lost still need Jesus; Marriages and Families still need strengthening. Communities still need transforming.
- Our nation still needs prayer, godly leadership, and believers who demonstrate conviction without hostility and courage without fear.
- Lastly, our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren depend on us to provide a path to their success, and we are not providing that path.
In the Scriptures, when God allowed His people to suffer famine, pestilence, plagues, sickness, war, and being taken captive by a pagan nation, it was to bring them to repentance.
- They were to use that time of captivity to:
- Re-evaluate their relationship with God, as well as their fellowship with God’s people.
- Renew their faith in God and their trust in God, as evidenced by their genuine worship of God.
- Refine their emotions; get rid of pride and haughtiness; get off their pity pot and become more concerned about others than about themselves.
- Remind themselves that they were the people of God; chosen by God to be His people; to serve as His witnesses to the rest of the world.
1. The Description of the Battle – “We wrestle not against flesh and blood.”
- Paul said our spiritual warfare isn’t about fights with people we can see, but rather about conflicts with evil powers we can’t see.
2. The Description of the Enemies – “Against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
- Satan is our adversary, who walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He never gives up, nor does he change his strategy.
- Principalities – refers to the generals: those fallen angels cast out of heaven with Lucifer, who develop strategies to destroy every human life.
- Powers – refers to the captains, those given authority over specific areas, such as a nation, a state, or a province, and the evil power necessary to carry out their assignment.
- Rulers – refers to the enlisted soldiers; those who preside over the darkness of this world, not only the ignorance of God, but also the ignorance of sin.
- Spiritual wickedness in high places – demons that dwell in, and operate from, the spiritual world between earth and heaven: the very ones with whom we are constantly at war.
3. The Description of Our Weapons –
- Verse 13 – “The whole armor of God,”
- Verse 17 – “The helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,”
- Verse 18 – “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.”
- Notice we are to “put on,” “take up,” and “gird up”—things we should do.
- Notice that “the armor of God,” “truth,” and “the shield of faith” are ours through Christ and are manifested by the Holy Spirit, who indwells within us.
- Putting on the armor of God is, in effect, putting on Christ. In Christ, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, for we stand in the power of His might!
- Gird up your loins – hold fast to the truth about Christ.
- Put on the breastplate of righteousness – cling to the sinless perfection of Christ.
- Shod your feet with peace – walk in the spirit of Christ.
- Take the shield of your faith – suffer persecution for believing in Christ.
- Put on the helmet of salvation – have the assurance of your relationship with Christ.
- Take the sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of Christ.
- The six parts of the armor are latched on to us by prayer, for without prayer, even if we are dressed in God’s armor, we will still be defeated.
4. The Description of Our Warfare –
- Verse 11 – We stand against the devil’s wiles.
- Verse 13 – We withstand the evil of our day.
- Verse 18 – We pray in the Spirit.
- According to Colossians 2:15, Jesus disarmed all principalities and powers at the cross; therefore:
- Our victory is rooted in what He has done, and not in what we can do.
- Our victory is when we show those who oppose us what God has done for us through Christ our Savior and Lord.
